Manchester United manager
Jose Mourinho has confirmed Romelu Lukaku is fit and available to face Derby
County in the Emirates FA Cup third round on Friday night.
The Belgium international and our top scorer for the season
received a heavy blow to the head during the Premier League match against
Southampton last Saturday. He was taken off in the first half of that game and
subsequently missed the impressive victory against former club Everton on New
Year's Day.
In an interview with MUTV on Thursday, Mourinho exclusively
revealed the big man is ready to return.
"Romelu is back, Romelu is back," Jose told Gemma
Thompson. "As I said it was not a concussion, it was a precaution, a
protection for him. He wanted to play against Everton, but this time he is
back."
Later on, in the press conference, Mourinho admitted he will
start Sergio Romero over David De Gea in the anticipated cup
tie. "I'm going to play Romero because Romero is a top, top goalkeeper and
he deserves to play," the boss told reporters at the Aon Training Complex.
"David deserves a rest.
"And Romero's going to be the Argentina goalkeeper in
the World Cup in a few months, so for all what Romero means to us, Romero plays
and I am going to play what I consider to be a very strong team."
The manager also provided updates on the fitness of recent
absentees Marouane Fellaini, Michael Carrick and Antonio Valencia, who are all edging
closer to making their respective comebacks.
"From the injured players, Fellaini is back," Jose
said. "And Michael Carrick is back to training, not to competition, but is
back to training with the team. Antonio Valencia will be back to the team next
week, so he is not playing tomorrow but will be back to the team next week. The
situation is improving for us."
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